Yangshan Stone Factory is located in the eastern outskirts of Fushui City, far from where the kidnappers demanded the ransom. It takes nearly two hours to get there from Dingqiao Village, and if they were unlucky and hit traffic, it could take an entire afternoon.
Father Jiang was both angry and annoyed, his hatred for these kidnappers growing stronger. They had agreed on a straightforward exchange of money for the child, but now the kidnappers were pulling these tricks. If they took the money and killed his son, wouldn’t he and his wife be left with nothing? The five million yuan had been gathered from various sources. As honest people, they didn’t dare play tricks, fearing the criminals might check the money on the spot. If the money was lost and their child was still gone, they wouldn’t want to live anymore.
So, after being directed to the Yangshan Stone Factory, Father Jiang immediately doubted whether his son was still alive. The kidnappers sent a video showing Jiang Dongliang tied to a stone pillar, his little face scrunched up, crying non-stop in fright. As the child cried for his father, a rough voice said, “Look, the little brat is alive and kicking! You and your wife better behave, we’re reasonable people!”
Holding the phone, Father Jiang’s heart clenched, wishing he could grow wings and fly to his son. He quietly sent a message to Lin Heyu, who had already made plans. Lin Heyu arranged for Wen Huabei to stay behind and protect Mother Jiang while the rest of the team was already on their way and would soon arrive at the slaughterhouse.
Lin Heyu and Zou Bin followed Father Jiang to the stone factory to rescue the hostage. During the trip, they took turns driving. When Lin Heyu took the wheel, Zou Bin kept refusing, “Captain Lin, I can handle it. I used to drive long distances for over six hours at a stretch. This hasn’t been that long, no big deal.”
“You’ll need to drive on the way back. Rest now.”
Zou Bin had no more objections, sitting in the passenger seat and contacting Wen Huabei to ask if there was any movement. Wen Huabei replied that it was quiet; no one had shown up at the abandoned slaughterhouse, and Mother Jiang was pacing anxiously beside the suitcase.
“Captain Lin, no one has come yet. Do you think they suspect us?”
“No,” Lin Heyu’s tone was firm, “If they suspected the Jiang family of working with the police, they would have killed the hostage and found a new, more terrifying way to make their demands.”
Zou Bin thought for a moment, “Oh, that makes sense. They have plenty of kids in their hands and aren’t worried about not getting the ransom.”
Father Jiang’s red SUV stopped in front of the iron gate, and Lin Heyu deliberately didn’t follow him to the factory gate. Instead, he parked their van among several crookedly parked small vans, secretly observing the situation.
Zou Bin had carefully reviewed the information about the stone factory. Yangshan Stone Factory had been struggling in recent years, with frequent layoffs, leaving only a few workers. They saw only a few scattered workers along the way. The gatekeeper was an old man reading a newspaper with reading glasses.
After Father Jiang got out of the car and spoke with the old man, the old man shook his head, saying he hadn’t seen any children. Seeing Father Jiang so anxious, the old man asked him to wait and called a few workers who lived at the factory.
“We haven’t seen any children here.”
“If we found a kid, we would have called the police.”
“Are you sure you’re at the right place? There’s another stone factory, Penghui, just two miles away.”
Zou Bin saw the commotion ahead, Father Jiang looking desperate, sweating, and felt puzzled, “Why aren’t they letting him in?”
“Maybe the child isn’t here,” Lin Heyu glanced at the dusty ground, “The factory isn’t big; hiding a child would be too conspicuous.”
Father Jiang took out his phone and showed the workers the video. The old gatekeeper pushed up his reading glasses and said, “Hey? Isn’t that the quarry warehouse?”
The quarry was on the hillside, where the Yangshan Stone Factory extracted stone. There hadn’t been any major orders recently, so no one was taking care of it. The quarry was full of unprocessed large stones and didn’t need guarding, so it was completely deserted.
Lin Heyu and Zou Bin got out of the car and followed the workers, passing through a mountain path to reach the quarry. Father Jiang moved quickly among the large, disordered stones, pushing open the warehouse door. As soon as he stepped inside, he saw the little boy sitting on the ground.
“Sitting” wasn’t quite accurate, as his hands were tied behind his back to a stone pillar, forcing him into a sitting position. A cloth was stuffed in his mouth, and his white school uniform was filthy and disheveled. His delicate face was bruised and swollen, indicating the suffering this pampered child had endured during the kidnapping.
“Dongliang!” Father Jiang was overjoyed, rushing over to hug him, finally feeling some relief. Seeing his father, Jiang Dongliang’s eyes filled with tears. Unable to speak, he made muffled cries, his small body straining toward his father’s embrace.
“Daddy missed you so much. Don’t worry, I’ll untie you right away…” Father Jiang reached behind the pillar, feeling the tightly wound yellow packing tape, and quickly used a nail clipper to cut it open. Soon, his son’s small, delicate hands were freed, holding something in his palm. Father Jiang’s excited expression froze on his face.
Lin Heyu was outside the warehouse checking the quarry when he heard Father Jiang’s frantic shouting, his voice tense and jarring in the empty surroundings.
“Captain Lin! Come quickly—look!”
Lin Heyu hurried inside. Father Jiang, hands trembling, held his son’s shoulders and said, “Behind him, there’s…”
Before he could finish, Lin Heyu stepped forward, pushing Father Jiang aside, his pupils contracting.
The tape was half-peeled off, and Jiang Dongliang’s hand was still partly restrained. In his palm was a round button connected by colorful wires, disappearing into his back, hidden by his coat.
A bad feeling rose in his chest. Lin Heyu carefully lifted the coat, revealing a row of long cylindrical objects tied to Jiang Dongliang’s back with the tangled wires.
In the middle was a rectangular screen displaying bright red LCD numbers: 0:02:30.
Anyone who frequently watches police dramas would be familiar with this. It’s a bomb, and the countdown is only two and a half minutes. With such a complex tangle of wires, pulling the wrong one by mistake could trigger an immediate explosion. Even bomb disposal experts might not guarantee a perfect solution.
Gasps and exclamations echoed around. Father Jiang’s legs went weak, and he couldn’t stand, his face and lips turning pale, cold sweat soaking his back.
“Bomb! It’s a bomb!”
“Run! If it explodes, none of us will get away!”
“Call the police, call the police! Quickly!”
“Silence!”
Lin Heyu’s stern shout silenced the warehouse. He pressed Jiang Dongliang’s hand, ensuring the small fingers held the button firmly, “Luckily, the tape isn’t completely removed yet.”
“Captain Lin, what do we do now…” Father Jiang’s face was ashen. Lin Heyu quickly scanned the warehouse, spotting a roll of tape thrown in the corner. Zou Bin immediately picked it up and handed it to him. Lin Heyu deftly used the tape to rebind Jiang Dongliang’s hands.
“Zou Bin, clear the area. No one should remain in the entire Yangshan quarry. Have Xiao Bei check the slaughterhouse for bombs, quickly!”
“Yes!” Zou Bin immediately followed the order. Lin Heyu took out his phone and called Yuan Maoqiu, “Where are you?”
“On National Highway 465, about twenty minutes from Fushui.”
“Turn around and bring the bomb disposal team. I’ll send you the exact location.”
“Huh? Bomb disposal team?” Yuan Maoqiu was surprised, his voice changing pitch, “There’s a—”
A bomb?!
This was a method they hadn’t used before. The kidnappers had killed four children without even using a gun, so why suddenly bring out explosives?
After hanging up, Lin Heyu unzipped Jiang Dongliang’s jacket and carefully examined him. He wasn’t sure if this bomb was the only trigger or if there were other mechanisms like gravity or heat sensors that could set it off. Therefore, he didn’t dare to move Jiang Dongliang, leaving him in the uncomfortable and awkward position.
Now, only Lin Heyu and the child remained in the warehouse. Father Jiang wanted to stay, but Zou Bin forcibly dragged him out. Despite his young age, Jiang Dongliang understood what was strapped to him, his fear causing him to tremble violently.
Lin Heyu patted his sweat-dampened hair, “Don’t be afraid. Daddy has to go out for a while. Uncle will stay with you. Later, Uncle will remove the rope from your mouth. Can you promise Uncle not to cry or shout and stay calm to chat with Uncle?”
Tears rolled down Jiang Dongliang’s face, his body trembling uncontrollably. In such a life-threatening situation, even adults would struggle to stay calm, let alone a small child.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Dongliang nodded, his large eyes fixed on Lin Heyu, hope flickering in them.
Lin Heyu took out a small knife. The cold blade brushed against the child’s delicate face, causing Jiang Dongliang to follow his hand with his eyes. His long eyelashes fluttered before he shut his eyes tightly, too scared to look.
With a deft motion, Lin Heyu hooked the cloth string, pulling it out slightly before cutting it behind the head. The string fell limply onto Jiang Dongliang’s shoulders. Lin Heyu tossed the string aside. The child didn’t scream, just stared blankly with his mouth open.
“Take a deep breath and exhale. Calm down, believe in Uncle, you’ll be fine.”
Jiang Dongliang obediently took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. After a few times, he began to calm down, lifting his head to gaze at Lin Heyu with misty black eyes, asking in a faint voice, “Uncle Police, will I die?”
Lin Heyu rarely smiled, “No, you’re doing great by cooperating. You’ll be fine.”
“I don’t want to die. I haven’t had my birthday yet, and Mom and Dad are taking me abroad this year. I want to start school and make lots of new friends…”
The child muttered, as if trying to muster courage. Lin Heyu sat cross-legged on the ground, listening quietly without any impatience. He occasionally pretended to adjust the child’s clothes to check the display behind, ensuring the numbers hadn’t moved before continuing their conversation.
He hoped to maintain this calm state. If anything happened to this young child before his eyes, it would haunt Lin Heyu for the rest of his life.
Zou Bin restrained Father Jiang, preventing him from rushing into the stone factory. The man’s love for his son was evident; he was ready to face any outcome, even if it meant joining his son in death and haunting the criminals forever.
“Don’t go in and make things worse! Your son isn’t alone; our Captain Lin is with him!” Zou Bin was exasperated, still needing to finish the factory sweep while keeping an eye on this man to prevent him from sneaking in again. He’d already been caught trying to sneak back several times.
Father Jiang’s eyes were bloodshot, his face buried in his hands, “Let Captain Lin out; I’ll stay with Dongliang! I’ll accept whatever happens, just don’t let anything happen to Captain Lin!”
“The bomb disposal team is on the way! Why are you acting like your son is doomed?”
Father Jiang, on the verge of a breakdown, couldn’t listen, “I’ve seen movies. The bomb on Dongliang has such complex wiring. If they can’t defuse it, it’ll just explode! Let me in; please let me stay with him!”
“… ” Zou Bin pulled out a pair of handcuffs from his pocket, and with a “click,” he cuffed Father Jiang’s hands and pushed him into the car. He left the window slightly open for air circulation, ignoring the man’s shouts.
The workers were temporarily settled in a small house. Zou Bin had contacted the local police station, who would take the workers back for questioning and leave two colleagues behind: one to watch Father Jiang in the car and another to help Zou Bin thoroughly search the quarry.
Lin Heyu was going over addition and subtraction with the child when he received a call from Wen Huabei, speaking in a low voice, “Captain Lin, we didn’t find a bomb at the slaughterhouse. The kidnappers just called, demanding the ransom be placed in the freezer and for everyone to leave.”
Lin Heyu thought for three seconds and said, “Let Mrs. Jiang go first, you stay. When the person arrives, don’t rush to catch him, follow him.”
